Apologising


Where appropriate, apologising, acknowledging an error, cooperating and indicating willingness to learn from mistakes can help avoid a dismissal. An apology should be taken into account by the employer when considering sanctions, including when deciding whether dismissal is within the “band of reasonable responses” (see Chapter 9: Possible arguments to use in mitigation). 


An apology can also be used by the employer to justify treating one worker differently from another, where the offence was the same.